"But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. They said to you, 'In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.' These are the men who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have The Spirit. But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in The Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. Be merciful to those who doubt; snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear--hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh." Jude 1:17-23 (NIV)
Jude, the half brother of Jesus, warns the people that just before the second coming of Christ, men would mock The Word of God, try to turn you away from God, and tell you to follow them and their ungodly lustful desires. Christians are encouraged to stay faithful and pray, help those who have doubts by sharing God's Word with them so that they might be saved.
Don't be led astray by listening to and following the ungodly. We need to not only avoid that which is sinful and wrong, but we need to cling to that which is Godly and right. We are to share the gospel with those who are lost. Our goal is to pull them from the fire, not to fall into the fire with them. Through Bible reading, Bible study, and prayer, we have God's help to be a help to others. Don't hate the sinner, have mercy on him, but hate the sin.
Rev Wendell Wharton is a Christian and an ordained Baptist Minister offering Bible verse blogs and sharing his enlightened thoughts on various Bible verses, or Bible quotes, as daily "Bible Based Life Lessons", as part of a Christian Ministry of Bible study on-line, relating Bible verses to our everyday lives in order to provide daily devotional, inspirational, thought provoking scriptures to live by.
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